Combined pallet and crate



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Sept 17, 19 57 M. H. BECKNER COMBINED PALLET AND CRATE 4 Sheets-$11651.4

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4 QTT E Y I United States Patent 2,806,624 COMBINED PALLET AND CRATE H.Beckner, Washington, Pa., assignor to Tri- Washington, Pm, a cor-Marshall State Engineering Company, poration of Maryland This inventionrelates to combined pallet and crate structures and is a modification ofmy co-pending application Ser. No. 567,533, filed February 24, 1956.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a structurewherein the end walls are foldable upon the side walls that are mountedon the deck in a particular manner, to thereby permit of compactness forstoring and shipping when the crates are not in use.

The principal distinction between this invention and the forms shown inmy said co-pending application resides in the fact that although one ofthe vertical walls can here be folded to horizontal position inverticallyspaced relation to the deck as in the other application, ithas its lower edge maintained at a definite distance above the deck atall times, instead of being vertically shiftable into and out ofload-bearing engagement with the deck.

Some of the forms which my invention may take are shown in theaccompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is an end elevational view of acombined pallet and crate embodying one form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof looking at the right hand side of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view showing the crate of Fig. l folded upon the deck orpallet portion of the structure;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the structure ofFig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a modification of the structure ofFig. 1;

Fig. 6 shows the manner in Fig. 5 will be swung to horizontal position,walls, however, absent from the deck, and

Fig. 7 shows a detail of one of the stop members of Fig. 5.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4, the crate comprises a side wall 11 ofrods welded in crossed relation, the lowermost horizontal rod 12 of thewall being hingedly connected to a rod 13 by a helical wire 14. The rod13 is one of a series of transverse rods welded to horizontal rods 15,to thereby form the deck sheet of the pallet. The deck sheet is weldedto an underframe 16 of channel bars to which legs 17 are welded.

The side wall 11 is hingedly connected by a helical wire 18 to an endwall 19 that has a stop 20 on its lower end which extends into the deckand prevents bulging of this end wall under internal pressures.

The other side wall 21 has an end wall 22 hingedly connected thereto bya spiral hinge 23, at that corner of the crate diagonally opposite tothe hinge 18. At the other diagonal corners, the side walls 21 and 11respectively are detachably connected to the end walls by bolts 24 thatare slidably supported on these side walls, for movement into and out ofloop-like keepers 25 that are welded to the end walls 19 and 22respectively, which keepers extend through mesh openings in the walls 21and 11, as shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. The end walls aretherefore foldable against the side walls, on

which the vertical wall of with the other "ice the hinges 18 and 23,when the latches age disengaged and it is desired to fold the side walls21 and 11 flatwise upon the deck.

In order to permit this flatwise folding of the walls upon the deck, asshown in Fig. 3, the deck channel 16 at one side has one of its flangesor legs extended upwardly at 16a to support the upwardly-bent ends 27 ofthe deck wires. A rod 28 is welded to the bent ends 27 and is hingedlyconnected to a rod 29 that is welded to the vertical rods 20 of the endwall 21, by a spiral hinge 31.

The side wall 11 (Fig. 1) is hingedly connected to the deck at 14 insuch manner that it is supported in vertical position directly by thedeck, while the wall 21 is directly supported upon the bent-up ends 27of the deck wires. When the end wall 19 is folded outwardly upon thewall 11 and the wall 11 laid flatwise upon the deck, and the end wall 22folded about the hinge 23 upon the side wall 21, the walls can all liein approximately flatwise position on the deck as shown in Fig. 3, byreason of the clearance afforded by the bent-up deck rods at 27.

Referring now to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, I show an arrangement wherein a sidewall 31 that corresponds to the side wall 21 is hingedly connected toupturned rods 32 of a deck 33 in permanently raised position. That is tosay, the wall 31 will be of somewhat less height than the opposite sidewall and the end walls that correspond to the end walls 19 and 22, byreason of the fact that it has no vertical change of position whichwould permit it to rest upright on the deck. This side wall is hingedlyconnected to the deck by a spiral hinge 34 which extends around thelower horizontal rod 35 of the side wall and two rods 36 and 37 that arewelded to the inner and outer sides of the upstanding ends 32.

The rods 36 and 37 have humps formed therein as shown at 38 in Figs. 5and 7, to prevent displacement of the lower edge of the side wall 31from the upturned edge of the deck, when the side wall is in its raisedor operative position.

It will be understood that the structure of Figs. 5 and and 6 will beplaced on a pallet underframe as in the case of Figs. 1 and 2.

I claim as my invention:

1. A combined pallet and crate structure, comprising an underframe, adeck sheet on the frame and bent upwardly at one edge and then extendinghorizontally, a side wall hingedly connected to the opposite edge of thedeck and foldable flatwise thereon, a second side wall hingedlyconnected to the said horizontally-extending portion, the last-namedhinge connection and its wall being vertically supported by the saidhorizontal portion, whereby the lower edge of the second side wall willbe disposed in such vertically spaced relation to the deck as to overlieother walls laid upon the deck, the two end walls engageable with theside walls and normally resting upon the deck when in their verticalpositions, the underframe having a vertically flanged member in positionto support said horizontally extending portion. 1

2. A structure as recited in claim 1, wherein thevsaid flangedunderframe member is in the form of a channel having a flange thatengages the undersurface of the main body of the deck sheet and a deeperflange that engages beneath the said horizontally-extending portion ofthe deck sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,443,901 Murray Jan. 30, 1923 2,632,578 Brickman Mar. 24, 19532,735,568 Bitney Feb. 21, 1956

